It was said that the music and theatre of Milan eclipsed even that of Paris. The three, of course, attended La Scala and La Canobiana, where the spring season of performances was in its final weeks, and as a consequence were exceptionally fine. There were numerous other modern theatres, including a remarkable recent construction, Il Teatro Carcano, built entirely of wood inside, said to have very superior sound, and the latest, Il Teatro Rè, built purposely for the staging of comedies. However, Il Teatro Filodrammatico, designed by Antolini, was notable not only for its exceptional plan which forbade the customary private boxes (in the interest of requiring the would-be box-holders to attend to the performance!), but also its practise to provide nearly one thousand seats gratis to the citizens of Milan—and that the company was comprised entirely of amateur players. It seemed to the Darcys to be the last bastion remaining of the days of the Repubblica; they were not at all surprised to learn that its informal appellation was, “Il patriotico.” There was a theatre of marionettes—of almost human size—that performed all of the action of the piece with a naturalness that almost led one to believe that they were real people, so especially well did the voices from behind match the action of the puppets. Mr. Darcy remarked in a very droll manner that the puppets acted like men, whilst in the play of the previous evening, the men had acted like puppets.

During the day, they visited the principal sights: the Duomo, a construction entirely of white marble taken from Lago Maggiore, which had been, unaccountably. chosen by Buonaparte to stand as the exception to his policy of desecration of the vast cathedrals—including those of France—to such a great degree that the Duomo had actually been completed by the Emperour only some few years before his defeat. The exterior had been adorned with a great quantity of gilding, and countless statues, reliefs, and other ornaments, all executed in marble of the purest white. However, the interior, with its legions of marble columns, was its real ornament. The inside of the Duomo was cavernous. The crypt, supported by columns of silver and variously coloured marbles, contained numerous ancient scenes on ivory in-set with jewels, and a great sarcophagus of silver and gold—through which the corpse was visible! A prefect was called to shew them the tomb, which was revealed by opening a sliding door. Visible within the glass coffin was the blackened body of St. Borromeo in his mitre and what remained of his vestments; an innumerable array of jewelry, precious stones, and gold surrounded the body entirely. The Darcys said what was proper and exited the church.